>Again, there are no dimensional issues here because the
>coefficients of expansion are defined in terms of *fractional* change
>in length or area. It's like saying, if I have a square, and increase
>the length of both sides by 1%, then how does the area change? You
>don't square the 1%, as Douglas thought, because it doesn't have
>dimension of length. If you work it out, you'll see the change in area
>is about 2%.
>Michael

Works for me, and my non-math-intensive mind.  If I have something
that's 1 x 1 and it grows by 1% now it's 1.01 x 1.01 and the
area, according to my Pentium,  is now 1.0201.

Barry

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